


Phoenix Wright, Super Attorney

by RiceArchbishop



Category: Marvel vs. Capcom (Video Game), 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Fist Fights, Gen, Phoenix Wright Kink Meme, Post-Gyakuten Saiban 5 | Dual Destinies, Spontaneous Superpower Manifestation, Superpowered Fights, mentoring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-31
Updated: 2014-08-31
Packaged: 2018-02-15 14:19:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2232168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiceArchbishop/pseuds/RiceArchbishop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Wright Anything crew knows superheroes exist. But they exist elsewhere, they're somebody else's problem. Or are they?</p><p>A superhero AU with some tinges of Marvel vs. Capcom, because why have one superpowered lawyer when you can have two?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was never discovered from whence the idea originated. All Phoenix knew was that he had been in his office, diligently working on paperwork, when the door had come flying open and a very excited, _very_ clearly intoxicated Ema Skye had burst in, yelling something about empirical testing and reliable data. This being a not-unheard-of occurrence for Friday nights at the Wright Anything Agency, Phoenix had only been mildly startled, and had proceeded with his work while Ema rummaged around for some book or another on his shelves. 

An equally excited, equally tipsy Maya followed Ema into the office. A quick glance at her revealed that she was in fact wearing _that_ smile. He rapidly returned his attention back to the documents in front of him.

“Maya, whatever it is, no.”

“I haven’t even…”

“You have the same smile you had before persuading me to take part in the burrito-eating contest.”

“Nick…”

“And the same one that you had when Trucy said she might be able to convert her old magic supplies into a potato cannon.”

“It was _one_ lamp…”

“And the same one you had right before, and briefly during, The Yokai Incident last Halloween.”

“Wow, I actually felt those capital letters…”

“So I repeat: whatever it is, Maya, no.”

“C’mooooooon, Nick, it probably won’t even hurt!”

“How is that supposed to make me _more_ likely to OW!”

This last exclamation was coincident with Ema walloping him over the head with one of his own legal texts. Phoenix rubbed his head, rounding his swivel chair on Ema, only to find her frantically scribbling in a notebook.

“What! The! Hell?!”

Ema looked up briefly from her notes, blinking, face flushed with alcohol and science. “I told you! Testing!”

“And what was that supposed to test?!”

“Your powers! We went through this already!”

Phoenix blinked at her, then swiveled back toward Maya.

“Huh?” Maya’s grin intensified.

“We think you have superpowers!” 

Phoenix blinked again, processing. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it again, and settled on raising an eyebrow. Maya took the hint and barreled onward. 

“So Trucy and Ema and Polly and Athena and I were talking and drinking (don’t worry, Trucy wasn’t, we know your stance on corrupting her) and we started talking about how Apollo and Athena have powers, she can do the ear thing and he can do the eye thing and we know there are superheroes around (like the spider guy in New York! He’s awesome!) so then we started wondering what we would be like as superheroes and, well, there may have been a non-zero amount of costume design involved, but the important thing is that somebody mentioned that you seemed to not have any powers, and somebody else suggested you might be, like, super-durable (like the Ghost Rider! only, y’know, less boney) so of course we need to do tests to figure out if that’s the case!” 

Phoenix rubbed the bridge of his nose. Apollo, Athena, and Trucy had entered behind Maya during her speech. “Alright,” he said patiently, “what makes you think I have super-durability at all?”

Maya turned to Apollo, who cleared his throat. “Let’s see… fell off of a bridge into a notoriously dangerous river and walked away with nothing but a cold, hit by a speeding car and walked away with a sprained ankle, and, let’s not forget, digested a probably-poisonous necklace without any ill effects.”

Phoenix looked flatly at Apollo, seemingly unimpressed. “All that was just luck, I OW - _would you please stop that, Ema_ \- I don’t think I have superpowers. If I did, why would prosecutor Von Karma’s whip still hurt like crazy? Plus, it’s certainly not helping me with the getting-hit-by-books scenario.” A notebook snapped shut behind him.

Ema leaned against the side of his desk. “Mr. Wright, I’ve done the math. These events leading to these outcomes without some kind of extra variable is so incredibly unlikely that it would be remiss of us not to consider other possibilities. Scientifically speaking. Hm… maybe it only triggers for trauma past a certain threshold…” 

“That’s not a threshold I’m comfortable testing, Ema,” he replied. “Now, perhaps we can all drop this and let me get back to work? There’s a trial I need to see tomorrow. Thank you.” They filed out, Ema grumbling about their duty to science.

~~~~~~~~

Phoenix observed from the gallery as the trial of Hackson Frollock, a forger, proceeded. He wasn’t particularly interested in the defendant- the evidence was pretty decisively against him and it was expected he’d sell out some underworld contacts to reduce his sentence. No, he was focused on the defense attorney.

Jennifer Walters, Attorney at Law, was new to the area, but he’d heard impressive things about her previous record. The best word he could think of to describe her was “mousy”- with her short brown hair, demure bearing, and glasses, she was the picture of a meek, unassuming legal aide. Her defense of her client was similarly meek- the prosecution was absolutely hammering away at her, and she seemed to be crumbling under the pressure. _Poor thing,_ Phoenix thought to himself, _but this doesn’t match up at all with what I’ve heard about her… ah, wait. Here we go._

As the prosecution finally handed off the witness, Walters’ bearing changed. She straightened, slamming her hands on the table, and removed her glasses. The judge seemed to take notice.

“Er… is the defense well?”

Walters smiled up at him. “Excellent, your honor. I just need a moment to… get my game face on.” She strained. She flexed. And before the court’s surprised eyes, she _transformed._

The brown bun atop her head became a flowing, waist-length green mane. Her skin shifted from white to green as she put on a foot in height and easily six inches in breadth. This was what Phoenix had come to see- the superhero defense attorney, the She-Hulk. 

Walters - no, She-Hulk – smiled as she rolled her shoulders. “Ahhh… that’s much better. Anyway, where were we? Oh yes. Witness!” Her arm flashed out into a respectable “Objection!” pose. “You claim you saw my client forging these documents. When, precisely, was this?”

As a visibly shaken witness stammered out a response, Phoenix raised an approving eyebrow. Just like that, on force of attitude alone, She-Hulk had taken back control of the courtroom. She was pressing the prosecution’s star witness mercilessly. Phoenix was impressed by the tactic- allow them to grow complacent at first, and then throw everyone for a loop with the transformation and subsequent vigor. _And now would be a good time to present… yep, there we go._

“Your Honor! The security video from the café across the street clearly shows that the witness was not in fact in that room at the time he claims! Therefore, he could not have seen my client at that time!”

Phoenix settled back in his chair, smiling. _I’m going to have to talk to this woman._

~~~~~~~~

He found her after court, wrapping up a conversation with a police officer. “Ms. Walters? Phoenix Wright,” he said, proffering his hand.

She-Hulk turned, surveying him. “You’re the attorney I’ve been hearing so much about.” She took his hand- she had a surprisingly gentle grip. “A pleasure.”

“Same to you. I saw your case just now- I was very impressed with the way you lured everyone into a false sense of security before busting this out.” He gestured to her general hulkiness, prompting a laugh.

“Unfortunately it only works once in any given district, but I couldn’t resist. A shame I had to burn it on a guilty client, but Frollock’s not a bad guy- just a little in over his head. Forgers, you know? They’re all artists at heart.”

Phoenix shook his head ruefully. “I know what you mean.” 

They walked out of the courthouse together, discussing trial strategy (“Do you prefer to point out obvious contradictions first, or wait for more info?”), fashion (“Nice suit, by the way. How does it still fit after you do your thing?” “Trade secret.”), and were just getting around to the prosecutor’s office (“Payne was a pushover, who do I request for a real challenge?”) when they started crossing the street. 

The driver of the bus had been partially stunned, partially terrified at the appearance of a six-foot green Amazonian goddess in a business suit in front of him. As such, it was perhaps understandable that he did not brake quite in time to get to a full stop before the crosswalk.

She-Hulk noticed the bus, and noticed that it was not slowing down fast enough. This was not an unusual occurrence when she moved to a new city, and normally it was not a problem- she could shrug off punches from superhumans, getting hit by a bus was more of a legal headache than it was a physical problem. However, this time there was a squishy human next to her, problematically between her and the bus. With so little time to react, it was perhaps understandable that she decided that the most prudent course of action was to throw Phoenix bodily back toward the courthouse.

All Phoenix knew of this was that he was one instant walking across the street and the next flying through the air, looking down at the stone steps of the courthouse rushing up to meet him. He hardly had time to think “oh dear” before landing with a sickening _WHACK._

She-Hulk, having stopped the bus without damaging it beyond the need for a couple of new headlights, rushed over. “Mr. Wright! Oh god oh god oh god I am SO sorry I didn’t mean to throw you that hard I just kind of panicked and you’re… standing?”

Phoenix was indeed standing, brushing himself off and looking thoroughly annoyed. “Er,” said She-Hulk, “are you… okay?” He sighed.

“Fortunately, yes. Unfortunately, it seems that I now have to go listen to about half a dozen people saying ‘I told you so.’”


	2. Chapter 2

_There is something profoundly wrong with the world when I am the one trusted to foster a group of super-powered young people._

It had been six months since She-Hulk’s intervention had proven that Phoenix was superhumanly impervious to major injury. The rest of the Agency had been insufferably smug, as predicted, but what Phoenix _hadn’t_ foreseen was that Trucy would immediately see it as a new branch of the Wright Anything Agency. 

She had approached the city with a proposal that Phoenix, trustworthy as he was, should be the one to oversee the city’s population of young superhumans. Perhaps he should have objected more strenuously, but Trucy had gotten _that_ look and that had been that. Surprisingly, the city seemed more than happy to let a formerly disbarred lawyer run what amounted to a youth center for the dangerously powerful. Even more astonishingly, a large number of kids and young adults had made contact, showcasing a variety of abilities. 

With the sudden influx of responsibility, Phoenix had begun delegating: Athena did outreach and talked to all the parents, often joined by Trucy. Apollo took on most of the inevitable legal cases- teens without full control of their powers causing damage, psychic intrusions causing offense, and that one unfortunate case with the tentacles. Phoenix acted as co-counsel for a good chunk of them, but Apollo did fine on his own. Finally, Phoenix made sure to do personal interviews with each new person to join the center in any capacity.

Said interviews were often… interesting.

He should have predicted, perhaps, that seemingly everyone he knew from the Prosecutor’s Office turned out to have powers, as well as their associates- it seemed to be the way of things in his life. Really, he told himself, he should be grateful- the fact that they had been some of the first to show support for the center had made it much more popular. Those first interviews had still been awkward for a variety of reasons.

~~~~~~~~

“Prosecutor Gavin, er… Klavier. How long have you been able to do this?”

“A few years now.” 

“Did it have anything to do with the disbanding of the Gavinners?”

“Heh. You guess right. I had to take a hiatus from public performance to gain some control. Couldn’t have it happening on stage- that would’ve been disastrous, ja?”

“Of course not. Well, I suppose we could use your help- a lot of kids have trouble with control. But, ah, could you keep the demonstrations as mild as possible? We have enough hormones running around as it is.”

“Of course, Herr Wright. But no promises on the hormones front- you can’t just turn off being a rock star.”

“Right. Well, talk to Apollo for the tour and I’ll have a formal job description for you later.” 

As the young prosecutor left, beaming, Phoenix sighed and slouched in his chair. _Because of course his shows weren’t flashy enough,_ he thought, _without the ability to shoot lightning from a guitar._

~~~~~~~~

“Ice powers.”

“In short, yes.”

“I can see why you kept it a secret- the bad puns are going to be numerous, to say the least.”

“Feeble jests are no concern, Wright-dono. I kept it a secret to ensure that I could always shatter my shackles should the need arise.”

“You’re not serious.” 

“I am _always_ serious, Wright-dono.”

“So I’ve noticed. Very well, Prosecutor Blackquill… I suppose _bushido_ is as good a tool as any to teach our kids right from wrong, but I’m going to insist you not interact with any of the younger children. You scare them.”

“…Acceptable.”

“And no live steel in the center.”

“…Fine. And Taka?”

“Taka is your responsibility. The bit about ‘no harming the students even if they deserve it’ extends to him.”

“I will see to it your students have the same discipline. Thank you.”

As the former Twisted Samurai bowed stiffly and left, Phoenix allowed himself a small smile. 

_He always was a… cool customer. Okay, that was bad. No more of those._

~~~~~~~~

“Et tu, Brute?”

“What can I say, Wright?”

“I just… I thought you might have told me. ” 

“What? Oh, I don’t have any powers.”

“Then… why are you here?”

“To support a fledgling, yet highly impactful new organization? To have a chance to mentor the next generation? To help an old friend with what will likely be the most challenging job he’s ever done? Take your pick.”

“That’s… that’s really thoughtful of you, Edgeworth. Thank you.”

“The pleasure is mine. Now, how may I be of service?”

“Well… we really could use an experienced detective to help Ema find the truth behind all the various cases on our plate. Normal crimes are bad enough, but add in superpowers and the whole thing gets a lot messier. Think you can help?”

A smile graced Miles’ face. “Just think of me as your ace attorney investigator.”

~~~~~~~~

“Ms. Andrews, I cannot tell you how happy I am that you’re here.”

“Really? I haven’t even told you what I can do yet.”

“Really. But please, do tell.”

“Well, I can remember everything I’ve ever experienced perfectly, and share those memories with others.”

“Um… I hate to say this, but I don’t think an eidetic memory is a superpower.”

“It’s… a little more detailed than that. Here, give me your hand…”

“Okay, what are you… _oh crap where are we whatdidyoudo?!_ Wait… is this your apartment?”

“Yes. This is a memory from about a week ago.”

“Wow. That’s… really awesome. I can smell the steak cooking. Oh! And there’s you… and Franziska? More whip lessons, I take it?”

“Er… yes. Exactly.”

“Well, that aside, we really need a PR rep here. What do you say?”

“I’ll do my best, Mr. Wright.”

~~~~~~~~

“Ms. Walters! Good to see you! Or, ah, do you go by She-Hulk when you’re…”

“Green? Either is fine, Mr. Wright. I could hardly not offer my services- superhero rights are my specialty.” 

“Well, we have quite the case load already- you ready to get started?”

“Oh _hell_ yes.”

“Great! Apollo’s in charge of defending the kids at the moment, you’ll be working with him.”

“The spiky-haired one in the red vest out front? He’s cute. I’m going to enjoy this.”

“That’s… probably more than I needed to know, Ms. Walters. Please don’t break him.”  
“Don’t worry, I’ll be more gentle with him than I was with you. Speaking of, if you ever want to get some training in, learn how to use that power of yours… don’t hesitate to call.”

~~~~~~~~

There was one interview, however, that had gone beyond “awkward.” He had been dreading it ever since Edgeworth had come by. 

As he sat in his office, he was glad that he had instituted the “check weapons at the door” policy, as it probably about to save him quite a bit of pain. Across the desk sat Franziska von Karma, looking distinctly annoyed at the loss of her whip. He cleared his throat cautiously.

“Ms. Von Karma... how can I help you?”

She raised an eyebrow. “I was under the impression that _I_ was here to offer my services to _you_ , Phoenix Wright.”

He cleared his throat again. “Er… yes. But, well, last time we met you said you wanted to crush me into itty-bitty pieces, if I recall correctly, and you don’t seem to have any powers, so… forgive me if I doubt that you really want to help the agency.” Her eyes narrowed as he said this, her mouth narrowing to a tight line.

“Fool,” she snapped. “And an egocentric one at that. My grudge with you is professional, not personal. I am not here for you, I am here to help a new generation achieve perfection.”

_clank clank clank clank_

A series of Psyche-Locks rattled into place around the teal-haired woman. Phoenix barely batted an eye. _I could’ve guessed that was a lie even without the magatama._ He settled back in his chair. “If you don’t want to tell me the truth, Franziska, I won’t force the issue. But I’m not going to hire anyone I don’t trust with children, and I _absolutely do not trust you with children._ ” As a fire lit in her eyes and she opened her mouth to retort, he held up a hand. “Let me finish. It’s not your fault; I just doubt that Manfred Von Karma instilled in you the kind of child-rearing values that we’re trying to emulate here.”

All of a sudden, her posture had lost all of its ferocity. She was silent for a long moment, determinedly not looking at him. When she finally spoke, her tone was as soft as he had ever heard it, but laced with tension.

“Kindly refrain from mentioning my father.”

It took Phoenix all of a quarter second to figure out. “Oh, god, I’m a…”

“Fool. Yes. You are. But you are not incorrect, Phoenix Wright. I am no stranger to a hostile childhood, to being an outcast from my peers.” She straightened. “I do not regret my upbringing, nor do I regret the person I became because of it. But, as ever, I am not like most. If I can help these children become more… well-adjusted, to borrow a phrase I usually loathe, I will do so.”

It was Phoenix’s turn to take a moment, processing. He went through several possible responses, before finally settling on something simple. “You’ve grown.” 

She snorted. “You were expecting something else? It’s been seven years, Phoenix Wright. I could say the same of you.”

He gave a wry smile. “I suppose so. Alright, Franziska. I’ll give you a shot. Part-time only, no scaring the kids, and none of the whippings, if you could. Talk to Adrian, she’ll let you know when to come in.” 

Franziska returned the smile, shaking his hand as they stood. “I promise you nothing but perfection, Phoenix Wright.”


	3. Chapter 3

Despite delegating as best he could to all his new employees, Phoenix was still swamped with work between dealing with city officials, court cases, and new arrivals to the center. At the end of a particularly long week that had involved seven interviews, a murder case centered on a marijuana farm, and a pyromantic duel (which was only ended by the intervention of Simon Blackquill wielding a flaming practice sword in one hand and a spray of ice in the other), Phoenix badly needed a break. His planned weekend of staying in with Trucy and pretending the rest of the world didn’t exist was, however, interrupted before it even had a chance to get started. 

“Boss! You look like you need a break!”

Phoenix turned to see the by-now familiar looming green form of She-Hulk striding up behind him. “You’re not wrong, Ms. Walters,” he said, smiling tiredly. 

She returned the grin. “I was actually about to go blow off some steam myself. Care to join me?” 

His eyes narrowed. “Why do I suspect that your version of blowing off steam and mine are drastically different?” She chuckled.

“Probably because mine involves lots of hitting things, and I doubt you’ve ever even thought about assaulting anything.” 

“That’s not… strictly true. Ask me sometime about how I met my mentor. Some time when I’m _much_ drunker than this,” he amended as one of her eyebrows perked up.

“Fair enough. Still, if you have a blank spot in your schedule, I’m on my way to the gym- and I could use a sparring partner I don’t have to worry about hurting.” He snorted.

“I should get that on my desk: ‘Phoenix Wright, Attorney at Law, Human Punching Bag.’ Maya would love it. Well, Trucy _has_ been badgering me to take better care of myself… I suppose I have a couple hours to spare.” 

~~~~~~~~

_One of these days,_ Phoenix thought to himself, _someone is going to be doing research on my life. They will point to this moment and say, “Right here. This is the moment he went insane.”_ He stared up at the ceiling from his position flat on his back. A smiling She-Hulk entered his field of vision. 

“That was better!”

He groaned. Not out of any pain, his invulnerability had ensured he didn’t really feel any of the hits, but it was disorienting to be repeatedly flung across the mats. He accepted She-Hulk’s hand, pulling himself to his feet. “Yeah, it took you all of thirty seconds to floor me that time.” 

“Hey, that’s longer than most last.” 

“I feel so much better now. Listen, I have an idea… why don’t we slow things down a little bit? I’m not much good to you as a sparring partner if all I’m doing is frantically dodging.”

The corner of her mouth twitched upward. “Is that you accepting my offer to teach you how to fight?”

_I really should know better than to resist a determined woman. Particularly when that woman’s a lawyer._ “Yes, I suppose it is. Your point, Ms. Walters.” Her grin was positively wicked.

“Excellent. Let’s start with some basic forms. You want to lower your weight, like so…”

Two exhausting hours later, a sore Phoenix sank heavily onto an exercise machine. His head buzzed with forms, blows, counterblows, and other tidbits of fighting philosophy She-Hulk had managed to cram into his mind during their training session. _That woman is a slave driver._ He looked up at her- she was looking at him with a satisfied smirk, idly doing bicep curls with a 50-pound weight. “You,” he said, “are a slave driver. I am going to be sore all weekend.” Her smirk widened.

“Good. That means it’s working. Now, let’s get started on weight training. I’ll spot you.” Phoenix just looked at her, eyebrows raised incredulously. “Hey, all the training doesn’t matter if you can’t put any force behind your punches.” 

In response, he held out a hand- his whole arm was visibly shaking. “Ms. Walters. I may be invulnerable, but I’m still done for the day. Maybe next week.” As she opened her mouth to respond, he played his ace in the hole. “Do I need to remind you I have the power to make you lead counsel on the Ice Cream Flood case?” 

That seemed to convince her. “Fine. Same time next week?”

“Will you take no for an answer?”

“What do you think?”

“Same time it is.”

~~~~~~~~

“Hey Daddy! Wow, you look exhausted.”

Phoenix rolled over on the couch, looking blearily up at the bouncy form of his daughter. “Mrf. Hi, honey. How was your show?”

“It went really well! Mr. Hat’s new modifications worked perfectly- remind me to thank Ms. Andrews. Franziska was right, she _is_ good with her hands. What happened to you?”

He groaned. “Agreed to go to the gym with She-Hulk. It’s apparently going to become a regular thing.” She flopped on the couch next to him, giggling.

“That’s great, Daddy! Maybe you can be a superhero like her in your spare time!” He snorted.

“A, what spare time, and B, no, thank you, I have enough worries without trying to live a double life.” Trucy just giggled again. He glared weakly at her. “I blame you for this.”

“Objection! You didn’t have to submit yourself to Ms. Walters’ mercy.”

“Yes, but you got the center started, which brought her in, which made the two of us talk, which obviously makes it directly your fault. Objection overruled, sweetie.”

“Hmph. And they said you were an ace attorney. That logic is flimsier than Furio Tigre’s badge.”

“Fine, objection overruled on the basis of _my everything hurts_ and I am in no mood to debate.” 

“Heehee! Aww, poor Daddy. It’s okay, I’ll make you some tea.”

His thanks were muffled as he buried his head in the pillows.


	4. Chapter 4

The weekend was spent in an enjoyably lazy fashion, passing in a haze of Steel Samurai re-watches and homework. However, it ended prematurely.

It was Sunday afternoon when Phoenix’s cell buzzed, displaying Athena’s number. After staring at it for a few seconds in the hope that this would make it stop, he answered.

“Boss, we have a problem.”

“Is it the kind of problem worth interrupting my weekend for?”

“Yeah. A whole bunch of the people you locked up… turns out they’re super powered. There’s been a mass jailbreak.”

A shiver ran down Phoenix’s spine.

“How long ago?”

“The story just broke. It was about an hour ago.”

“How many of the kids are there?”

“Pretty much everyone.”

“Staff?”

“Ms. Von Karma, Simon, Ms. Andrews, Apollo, Edgeworth, Prosecutor Gavin, and me. Maya left for Kurain yesterday.”

“Put Edgeworth, Adrian, and Franziska in charge of the kids, get them all into the back. Get Taka to keep a lookout; if you see any of them, call me immediately. Call the police, then call She-Hulk… actually, scratch that, She-Hulk first. Oh, and give everyone back their weapons- that includes Klavier’s guitar. Then get yourself and Apollo somewhere safe. Got all that?”

“ _Ja._ What about you? What are you going to do?”

“I’ll be there as soon as possible. See you then.” He hung up. “Trucy!” he called, throwing on his jacket. Her head popped around the corner.

“Yeah Daddy? What’s up?”

Phoenix was briefly torn. _I don’t want to upset her, but this is serious…_ His consternation must have showed on his face, because Trucy’s smile disappeared rapidly. “Daddy? Is something wrong?” He shook himself. 

_She’s a trooper, she can take it. Plus, keeping her in the dark will just worry her more._ “A bunch of people who really don’t like me have manifested powers and broken out of jail. We have to go, the office is probably the safest place and I need to look out for the kids.” 

To her credit, his daughter only allowed her worry to show for a few seconds before setting her features. “Right. I’ve got everything I need, I think. Ready when you are.” He could still see the concern in her eyes, though. _That’s my girl._ He nodded.

“Right. Let me just grab my-” He froze mid-thought as he heard a pounding at the door. “Trucy. Get in my office. Now.”

She didn’t argue, retreating into his office and shutting the door behind her. He looked around frantically for anything he could use as a weapon as the pounding grew more insistent. The door wasn’t going to last much longer. The broom? No, too unwieldy. The metal rolling pin? Too flimsy. As he heard the frame start to crack, his eyes fell on his keys, sitting on the kitchen counter. He snatched them, gripping them so their points extended out between his fingers when he formed a fist. _Thank you, Larry, for making me watch so many bad crime dramas._ Just then, the door gave, and a hulking form burst into the room. 

Orange skin, pointed black hair, deadly-looking canines gleaming from a savage grin. 

Furio Tigre.

The mafioso was staring at Phoenix with a mix of hatred and delight. “Yoose gonna be sorry, Wright.” Belatedly, Phoenix noticed that The Tiger was now sporting actual tiger paws, complete with wicked-looking claws. While he was processing this detail, however, Tigre rushed him.

He narrowly dodged the first slash, flinging himself out of the way. _Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap. What do I do? He’s way stronger than me- and even if I am invulnerable, I can’t let him just keep hitting me- eventually he’ll either get through or get to Trucy. I have to keep him distracted, at least._ He tried to keep the fear from showing on his face. _Concentrate! It’s just like in court! He’s just another hostile witness!_

“What’s the problem, Tigre? Did they not serve tuna in prison?” The orange-skinned man roared- actually roared- and lunged at him again. Phoenix jumped to the side as the reflexes he’d started to build up sparring with She-Hulk began slowly waking up, looking blearily around and noticing they had a job to do. _I should be glad he isn’t any better of a fighter._ The Tiger was taking wild swipes at him, trying to connect with those claws. Phoenix danced madly about the room, dodging. _Focus! Remember what she said._ The training session flashed before his eyes. He could almost see She-Hulk standing behind Tigre, coaching him.

“Get inside your attacker’s reach; your invulnerability will help with that.” He ducked forward as Tigre thrust one claw forward, twitching to the side of the attack. 

“Once you’re there, get your strikes in, then get your back to theirs.” As the Tiger’s other claw came forward for a follow-up, Phoenix rammed his key-supplemented fist into the orange nose right in front of him. It was a shoddy blow- no follow-through, and he wasn’t accustomed to lifting anything heavier than a briefcase, but it startled his opponent enough that he could slip beneath the encircling arms and get into a back-to-back position.

“Now, turn with them to prevent them from getting at you.” The Tiger thrashed behind him, turning this way and that. Phoenix only kept up thanks to the speed that fear seemed to lend him. _That,_ he thought, _and the nice adrenaline rush I’m getting right now._ As he continued to evade, he could feel his opponent growing enraged with every swing.

“Fight me, ya coward!” 

“Don’t think I will, thanks though!” _I can’t keep this up forever, and I’m going to tire out faster than he will,_ Phoenix thought as the Tiger spun faster and faster. _I’ve got to get on the offense._ This in mind, he went with his first instinct: ramming his elbow into his attacker’s kidney. 

This, at last, did some damage. Tigre stumbled forward, growling. However, it also provided enough distance between the two of them for him to turn the motion into a swinging backhand.

Phoenix noticed the giant tiger paw speeding towards his face a second too late.

He flew across the room, crashing into the opposite wall with a _*CRACK*_ loud enough to rattle the windows. He groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head. His vision swam a bit in front of him, but a few blinks later he was able to recognize a familiar orange face. Said face was also much too close for Phoenix’s liking- Tigre’s left hand had turned back into a normal one, and was currently yanking him upwards by his tie while the other hand, still in its tiger mode, was drawn back, claws pointing directly at his heart. Tigre’s smile could’ve swallowed an ocean. 

“They say yoose invulnerable now. Wanna test how far dat goes?” _No,_ thought Phoenix desperately, _I have to get… away…_ Tigre’s claw swiftly descended, making contact with his skin. It only pricked at first, but the false attorney pushed, and slowly, ever so slowly, the claw started to penetrate Phoenix’s mostly-invulnerable flesh…

Suddenly, Tigre was gone. Phoenix blinked. One moment, there had been an orange mobster looming over him, the next, said mobster had been an orange blur. Now there was no mobster. He briefly wondered if this was some kind of pre-painful-death-by-stabbing hallucination. A roar coming from his side disabused him of that notion. He looked toward the source to see Tigre trapped against the wall, looking extremely angry and more than a little confused. Phoenix stood, brushing himself off. _What… the…_

“I was _sooooooo_ happy when I heard you broke out, Furio…”

Phoenix nearly jumped out of his skin. A low, almost monotone voice had come from by the door. His head snapped around, and silhouetted in the doorway he saw a familiar figure. She had grown taller, but the dark hair, sunken eyes, and voice were unmistakable. 

Viola Cadaverini turned to him. “Hello, Mr. Wright,” she said conversationally, as if they were meeting for afternoon coffee. “I hope I’m not intruding?” 

“Er…” Phoenix managed to stammer out. He shook himself, recovering. “Ah, no! Please, continue to do so. In fact, thanks for showing up when you did.” He glanced over his shoulder at the pinned Tigre, whose eyes were suddenly wide with fear. “Er… so you’re telekinetic?” She nodded.

“Ever since I found out, I’ve been practicing. All for the day when I would meet one person again…” She walked slowly over to where Tigre was now well on his way to hyperventilating. “Oh, I’ve waited for years to meet you again, Furio. And now that I have…” She trailed one finger along Tigre’s jaw. At this, the Tiger finally managed to regain his voice. 

“Viola! Baby! Yoose don’t gotta do this! Jus’ lemme go, I…” She pressed a finger to his lips.

“Shhhhhh sh sh sh. Don’t worry about a thing. We’re going to have…“ 

She made a fist, Tigre’s breath hitched. 

“So…“ 

She pinched her fingers, his eyes started to roll back in his head. 

“Much…”

Her eyes narrowed, and a sort of strangled wheeze rose from his throat.

 _”Fun.”_ She released her grip, and Tigre’s breath came back in a whoosh. Phoenix got the impression that if he could move, he would have collapsed. She brought her mouth close to his ear. “Just like we used to. Don’t you remember? No? Don’t worry- we have hours until the nice men come to take you back. I’m going to spend them reminding you of everything you did to me.” 

More than a little unnerved, Phoenix cleared his throat. “Viola?” Her head snapped around look at him. As it did, Phoenix looked her directly in the eye for the first time and saw… no, he didn’t just see, he _felt_ the emotion there, rage and pain and sadness all coiled together in an icy-cold blast. He very nearly recoiled, but managed to hold his ground. “You’re not him,” he said, his voice quiet. “You don’t need to hurt him.”

The stare softened a bit. “I’m not going to hurt him,” she replied, her features still set and her voice cold as ice. “Take your daughter and go, Mr. Wright.” He glanced over at his office door to see Trucy peeking out from within. He waved her over, and she scurried across the floor to stand beside and slightly behind him, gripping his shoulder tightly, eyes wide. “You see, I’m not just telekinetic,” said Viola from the far side of the room. She turned toward Tigre, a small, tight smile on her lips. “I’m also telepathic.”

Phoenix gently pushed Trucy towards the door. “Thank you. I’ll call the cops on my way out.” As they left, he could hear Viola’s voice murmuring behind them.

“So, Furio, ready for a walk down memory lane…?”

~~~~~~~~

They made it halfway to the center in silence. He glanced over at Trucy; her scared expression had been replaced by one of grim determination. He slipped a hand over hers, reassuring her. “It’s gonna be okay, sweetie. We’ll be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you.” 

She turned toward him, offering a smile he could tell was forced. “I know that… I’m worried about you.”

The corner of his mouth twitched upward. “Honey, I’m invulnerable. Even Tigre could barely break my skin, and he obviously got some strength enhancements in addition to those paws.” 

“Yeah, but…”

“No buts! We’re fine. Let me hear you say it.”

She sighed. “Daddy, I don’t really think now is…”

“Trucy!”

“Fine- I’m Trucy Wright and I’m fine!”

“Louder!”

“I’M TRUCY WRIGHT AND I’M FINE!” She was smiling a little more honestly now. He grinned a bit in response.

“That’s my girl.” 

~~~~~~~~~~

When he arrived at the center, it was to a line of police cars blockading the doorway. As he approached, he recognized Athena standing out front, Simon behind her, looking tense. She waved as he approached.

“Boss! I’m so glad you’re here, what took you so long!?”

He grimaced. “Furio Tigre, one of the people I put away, decided to come visit me at home right after I got off the phone with you. He almost had me, too- his old girlfriend showed up at the last moment, saved my butt. What’s going on here?”

She hesitated a moment, clearly torn between wanting to make sure they were okay and wanting to get him up to speed. Simon, watching the street, gave her a nudge. “Cykes-dono. Do not dwell on the past. We have more pressing concerns.”

“Er, right. _Bueno,_ She-Hulk’s not coming- the police have asked for her help rounding up a bunch of the super-powered escapees, and they’re way outmatched, so she couldn’t say no. She wanted me to tell you she’s really sorry and she’ll be here as soon as possible.” He frowned. Having a professional hero around would’ve done a lot to ease his mind- but he recognized that they were probably better defended than the rest of the city already. “Everything’s arranged like you wanted, the kids are in back with the non-powered staff. Some of the older ones with more offensive powers wanted to help.” 

“Please tell me you didn’t…”

“Of course not. Edgeworth and Franziska dealt with it. Those two are _scary_ good at good cop/bad cop.” Phoenix breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Good. Trucy, you get in the back with the kids, I need you to keep them occupied.”

She nodded, heading inside. “Leave it to me.” He turned back to Athena.

“Where are we on getting parents to take them home?”

“We’ve been making calls. A lot of them are on their way, but with the police shutting down so many streets to search for the escapees… it might be a while. Some of them actually said they thought this might be the safest place.” 

“When I am the one trusted to safeguard the city’s youth from dangerously insane, superpowered criminals,” he replied, “there is something profoundly wrong with the world.” He gestured them all inside.

“Right. Get the staff together, we need to talk.”

Within five minutes, Edgeworth, Franziska, Simon, Athena, Apollo, Adrian, Klavier, and himself were gathered around the lobby’s reception desk, along with the police lieutenant in charge of the detail outside. All eyes were on him. 

He cleared his throat. “I wish I had more to tell you all. This breakout seems to have been a long time in the making, and all of the escapees kept their powers under careful wraps. We do know who the ringleaders are, however- and they’re all very intelligent, very dangerous people, even without special powers.” He looked at Phoenix. “We have very good reason to suspect they’re coming after you, Mr. Wright, as you ensured they were all convicted. Their names are Damon Gant, Kristoph Gavin, Matthew Engarde, Manfred von Karma, and Diego Armando, a.k.a. Godot.”

The names hung in the air, and the room seemed to grow even tenser. Phoenix glanced around at the others assembled- Apollo’s face was like stone; Klavier was gripping the desk so hard his knuckles had turned white. Adrian had a death grip on her notebook with one hand while the other rested on Franziska’s shoulder. Franziska herself looked like she might burst from the mix of emotions swirling across her face. Edgeworth didn’t look much better, but he was at least trying to affect a calm demeanor, as opposed to his sister’s unbridled emotion. Athena was watching Apollo worriedly, and even Simon seemed perturbed. Phoenix turned back to the policeman. “What about Tigre?”

“Tigre apparently thought he didn’t need help taking you down. He took advantage of the situation to go after you on his own.”

“That sounds like him. Is that all?”

The lieutenant nodded. “That’s it. We’ll let you know the instant we have any more information. With any luck, we’ll be able to catch them before they make it here.”

“Thank you. I need a word with my staff.” As soon as the man was out of earshot, he turned to them. “I have too much experience with the police to trust them to provide anything more than a first warning before they get in. Those of you with powers, you’re the first line of defense.” He looked at each of them in turn. _We’re not superheroes, we weren’t meant to do this kind of thing… I don’t know if we can do this. But if I don’t believe in them, there’s no way they’ll believe in themselves. I have to get them ready._ He smiled tightly to himself.

_A lawyer is someone who smiles, no matter how bad it gets._

“I know most of us have… personal grudges with some of these people.” His own hands had balled themselves into fists at the thought of Godot. “But we’re here today to make sure those kids in back are safe. It’s just like in court- we don’t fight for ourselves, but for our clients.” 

He looked each of them in the eye. “I’ve seen all of you in action in the courtroom. I believe in your abilities, and I don’t just mean the super ones.” A pause. “There are eight of us and five of them, so we divide and conquer. I want you to know whom you’re working with and which opponent you’re going to pull away and engage. Those of you without powers, support those who do. If possible, pull them outside and away from the center.

“Go, get ready. I don’t care if you don’t believe in yourselves, as long as you believe in each other as strongly as I believe in each of you. We’ll get through this together.” He nodded, dismissing them. They drifted off to various corners of the lobby in twos and threes, huddling together. He leaned against the desk, watching and waiting. 

In one corner, Klavier and Apollo were conversing in low, hushed tones. Apollo said something that made Klavier chuckle, and his smile seemed to hearten Apollo. Phoenix could clearly make out the words “I’m fine” on Klavier’s lips. The corners of his mouth twitched upward. _They’ll be okay. Fine, even._

In another corner, Simon was sitting cross-legged, apparently meditating. Athena was doing laps around him, keeping up a constant stream of talk about her studies on combat theory and psychology. As he watched, Simon reached up and pulled her down into a sitting position in front of him. That seemed to calm her down a bit, and they launched into a serious-sounding discussion of psychological warfare. Phoenix was worried about Athena, but he remembered that she had at least some personal defense training, as Apollo could attest. _Plus,_ he thought, _the day Blackquill lets anything happen to her is a cold day in hell indeed._

He glanced towards the final group, where Adrian had one consoling arm around Franziska, who was twisting her whip in her hands. Phoenix could see the worry etched on Adrian’s face as well. _Those two are really close- that’s probably for the best. Times like this, everyone needs someone. Even if you’re perfect._ Edgeworth was also sitting beside his sister- he made eye contact with Phoenix, and stood, striding over. 

“Wright… I appreciate what you’re doing, but what about you? You’ve had one attempt on your life already today.” Phoenix found he couldn’t maintain eye contact. 

“It’s not me I’m worried about. What I wouldn’t give for Trucy to have these powers instead of me…” Edgeworth stepped directly into his line of sight.

“She will be fine, because _we will ensure it._ Right?” 

Phoenix looked up at his old friend. “…Yeah. Thanks, Edgeworth.” He looked over at Franziska and Adrian. “How’s your sister holding up? In her interview, she seemed to have some… unresolved issues with her father.” Edgeworth frowned again.

“Nobody comes out of a childhood like that unscathed. I, at least, got closure all those years ago. Franziska… less so. I don’t think she ever expected to see him again.”

“Well, it’s a good thing she has friends to help her out.”

“Quite. Seeing Ms. Andrews has definitely helped.”

“Yeah… wait, what!?” Phoenix’s head snapped around to look at Edgeworth, who simply raised an eyebrow.

“You always were oblivious, Wright. I guess I can’t blame you if you didn’t see it.”

Phoenix looked back at the two women- Franziska was now gripping Adrian’s knee. He looked away, embarrassed. “Well. I’m glad they both found someone.” Edgeworth smiled wryly. 

“Indeed.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. “As much as I’d like to let everyone have more time to prepare…” Phoenix nodded.

“I doubt we have much time.” He raised his voice. “Everybody, back here. Let’s hear your reports.”

The faces that now gathered around him were determined, resolute. He looked to Apollo and Klavier. 

“We’ll take care of Kristoph,” said Apollo. “I don’t care what he’s packing, we’ll take him down.” Klavier nodded beside him. 

“Good,” said Phoenix. “Simon, Athena?”

Blackquill spoke up. “We will handle the former Chief of Police. As I have the most combat training, I will attempt to do so as quickly as possible so that I may assist the rest of you.” 

“Also good. Be careful with Gant- he’s slippery as an eel.” He turned to the remaining three. “And you?”

Adrian spoke up. “I’ll take care of Engarde.” Her voice was steely, her bearing stiff. “I just need to get into physical contact. And then… then he’ll be sorry he ever left jail.”

Phoenix blinked in surprise. He’d never heard Adrian so angry, with so much venom in her voice. _Then again, considering who we’re talking about… I’d volunteer to beat him up myself if we weren’t stretched so thin._

Franziska spoke next. “My brother and I may not have powers, but we know our father better than anyone. We will handle him. Although…” she looked to Adrian. “Hopefully you will save some of your opponent for me.” 

There was a ghost of a smile on Adrian’s face. “He’ll still be whippable after I’m done with him, don’t worry.”

Phoenix cleared his throat. “Alright. That leaves Godot to me. I don’t know why he’s after me, he seemed fine with me when we last saw each other… but perhaps something’s changed. Now, let’s talk about-“

He was cut off by the unmistakable sound of a hawk’s cry. 

There was shouting from the police line outside, then something that sounded like a tremendous _WHOOSH_ and suddenly the police cars stationed outside were stationed a few hundred feet down the street, swept away by an enormous wave of water. Everyone looked out the door, then back at Phoenix. He set his features.

“This is it, everyone.”


	5. Chapter 5

Apollo had a moment to look at Klavier and nod before the entire front of the agency seemed to explode inward, showering the lobby in shattered glass and permitting the entry of a very familiar figure.

Kristoph Gavin seemed even taller than usual, and even more smug.

Of course, that may have had something to do with the way he was floating six inches above the ground. 

He barely had time to survey the room, however, before Apollo and Klavier were charging toward him, grabbing him bodily around the waist and moving right out past the four figures standing behind Kristoph and into the street. _I hope everyone else does okay,_ Apollo thought briefly to himself. _The faster we deal with Kristoph, the faster we can get back inside to help._ Together, he and Klavier threw the elder Gavin towards the far side of the street, which was deserted now that the cops had been washed away. 

Kristoph seemed to get over his shock and righted himself in midair, hovering gently just off the ground. He looked at them, anger just barely visible under his careful calm. “Ah… Klavier and Justice. Just who I wanted to see.” He adjusted his glasses. “I must say it has been far too-“

Klavier cut him off. “Stow it, _bruder._ You’re crazy, and nobody wants to hear what you have to say.” His fingers went to his guitar, picking out a few power chords to warm up his powers. 

The anger was more visible now, the calm cracking. _Good. The angrier he gets, the sloppier he gets._ Kristoph raised a hand, and suddenly Klavier was flying backwards on a wave of telekinetic force. He landed hard on his back.

“Do _not_ interrupt me, brother.” He cleared his throat as Klavier regained his feet. “As I was saying, it’s going to be-“

Apollo cut him off this time. “YOU WERE A TERRIBLE MENTOR AND YOU’RE AN EVEN WORSE VILLAIN!” Kristoph swiveled angrily towards him, extending a hand to throw him to his feet, but Apollo was already in motion, running sideways- the wave of force hit the street behind him with little effect. “All your scheming came to what? Years in a cushy cell? All because you couldn’t let go of a single client!” Behind him, he could hear Klavier’s song starting, and the accompanying crackle of lightning around his fingertips. _Gotta keep his attention on me._

Kristoph was levitating higher now, but Apollo could still pick out one hand twitching. _Prison must have done a number on him- his tells were never so clear before. At least it’s working._ He sent blast after blast at Apollo, most of which narrowly missed. _I doubt he’s had much experience tracking moving targets. I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up, though._ Klavier’s song was in its first chorus, the crackling intensifying. _If I can just stall him until the bridge…_

“You were always dense, Justice!” Kristoph called at him in between blasts. “You never understood that a lawyer’s reputation is paramount!” 

“Your obsession with reputation is what landed you in prison! You couldn’t deal with losing to Phoenix, you couldn’t deal with losing to me, and all your schemes were thwarted by your own ego!” _This is actually kind of therapeutic._ He glanced behind him to see Klavier, grinning like a madman, in the midst of a tiny thunderstorm, his song reaching a fever pitch. That glance, however, took a fraction of a second too long. 

The telekinetic blast took him full in the chest, bowling him over and pinning him to the ground. Klavier hovered over to him, face contorted by a positively evil grin. His glasses were cracked, his hair mussed by the force of his power. “ _You,_ ” he spat at Apollo, “are going to learn not to question your elders.”

“Nobody ever liked your lectures, Kristoph!”

A bolt of lightning took Kristoph in the back. He shrieked, spinning, to see Klavier reaching the bridge of his song. The lightning came again, and again, making his Kristoph’s arms spasm and his telekinetic blasts go wild. And then, at last… the solo.

Klavier launched into it with all the passion of a true rock god, his fingers flying across the strings, the music blasting out with tangible power, immolating Kristoph in one continuous stream of lightning. Apollo watched from his spot on the ground as a stricken Kristoph hovered higher and higher, still connected to Klavier’s guitar by a crackling beam of brilliant blue electricity. 

The song finally reached its climax, and Klavier’s hand shot up to point at the sky before coming down across the strings for one last power chord, a thunderous lightning strike coming down from the sky along with it to blast Kristoph from the air.

The disgraced attorney fell to the ground in a heap, unconscious. 

Apollo let out a sigh of relief as Klavier approached, still grinning. He accepted the prosecutor’s hand, pulling himself to his feet. He returned the grin. “Quite a show.”

“Well,” said Klavier, shrugging, “I had great backup.” He turned towards the agency. “But I believe we have more work to do.”

Apollo nodded. Together, they rushed back towards the entrance.

~~~~~~~~

As Kristoph exited on the point of Klavier and Apollo, Athena looked over the other four- which one was Gant? The one in the goggles had to be Godot, she’d heard stories about him, and she recognized Manfred von Karma, every attorney knew his story. That left the flashily-dressed one with the scarred face, or the one in the orange suit. Simon apparently knew which was which, and stepped forward to address him. “Damon.”

The one in the orange suit turned to face him. “Blacky!” he said, smiling jovially. “I didn’t expect to see you here!” 

“I’m sure,” Simon responded. “That is immaterial. I’m giving you a chance to leave peacefully.”

Gant’s smile fell a bit. “Oh, Blacky- I should have expected as much. I have to admit, I _was_ hoping you’d join our side, but, as it is, I shall have to deal with you.” With that, he held up one hand- the other, Athena noticed, was gloved- and an immensely forceful jet of water burst forth. 

Simon reacted quickly, drawing his blade with one hand and freezing the water jet as soon as it reached him with the other. It dropped to the floor and shattered. For the first time, Gant looked concerned. It only lasted a moment, however- his smile returned almost immediately. “You’ve been holding back on us, Blacky.” 

Simon actually grinned a bit in response. “I could say the same of you, Damon.” 

Gant’s grin was now huge. “Well, then. Shall we?” He summoned what seemed to be a sword and shield made of water, lunging at Simon. 

Athena could barely see their fight, it was so fast- the ex-chief of police had obviously been spending time in the prison gym. Simon was just as fast, but his ice powers were of limited use- whatever he froze, Gant blasted away the ice with a jet of water. _So this is where I come in. I either have to distract Gant or get him from behind._ Dimly, Athena could hear the sounds of battle in the room around her, but her focus was on Gant. _He’s way too fast and slippery to grab. So… well, let’s try the obvious solution._ Calmly, she walked up behind Gant and tapped him on the shoulder.

Gant’s head swiveled around to see who was trying to get his attention. Athena smiled and flashed him a peace sign. At that moment, when his guard dropped just a fraction, the blunt edge of Simon’s sword collided with the side of his head. As he reeled backwards, she took hold of his arm, dropped her weight, and flung him bodily over her shoulder. He landed flat on his back, Simon dashing forward to freeze him in place. 

Gant’s instincts, however, seemed to be good. A burst of water from his hand sent him sliding to one side, narrowly avoiding Simon’s ice blast. He regained his feet, and charged the pair of them, surrounding himself with a drill-shaped cone of water. They hurled themselves to opposite sides, dodging out of the way of the watery freight train. Gant slid to a stop between them, tearing off his other glove. Twin lashes of water extended from his hands, which he whipped at each of them. Athena tucked and rolled out of the way, while Simon simply froze the watery whip, smiling slightly.

“Whips?” he said. “Please. I have fought whip _masters_.” Gant spun towards him, forming a pair of water swords as he dashed forward. As he did, Athena spotted something in his suit pocket. _Is that…?_ She darted towards where the two of them were dueling.

Simon was holding his own, batting aside Gant’s blades and freezing the floor beneath them, making finding footing problematic for Athena as she approached. Gant and Simon seemed to have no such issues, however, their movements flowing smoothly across the ice. It was almost as if they were dancing rather than fighting. Athena slid across the ice, trying to keep her balance. _I’m not going to catch up to them like this- I’m going to have to be more decisive._

She pushed off of a wall, gliding smoothly, keeping her weight low. Simon was being forced to give ground, so she aimed herself at where their fight would be when she arrived. Just as she predicted, they slid into place just before she did, allowing her to duck down, reach up, and pluck the device from Gant’s pocket. She slid away just as Gant felt the tug and swung around, narrowly missing her with one of those swords. 

She looked at the thing she had pulled from Gant’s pocket- a taser. _Yes! I was right!_ “Simon! Catch!” She hurled it at him, and Gant’s eyes watched its arc, one of his swords losing its shape as he reached up, sending a watery claw to snatch it from the air…

As Simon’s ice-encased fist made contact with his chin. 

Gant fell backwards, cursing, as his water constructs lost their form and Simon snagged the taser out of the air, flipping it on and bringing it down into Gant’s stomach. The older man jerked for a few moments, then his eyes rolled backwards in his skull, and he lay still. 

Athena rushed to Simon’s side, smiling broadly. “Yes! We showed him!”

He returned the smile. “Indeed. Well done, Cykes-dono.”

She slapped his shoulder playfully. “Well done yourself. You certainly put him…” she smiled even broader- “on ice.” She watched as he attempted to suppress an exasperated smile. 

“That was terrible. And we should check on how are compatriots are doing.”

~~~~~~~~

_Him._

For a moment, Adrian froze. For a moment, she was again the woman she had been ten years ago. The memories flashed in front of her: Celeste was dead, Engarde and Corrida had walked away scot-free, continuing their stupid, pointless, hateful game, and they were now _all she had_. In that moment, fear consumed her, ruled her like it hadn’t for years.

And now, here he was in front of her, the monster who had destroyed her life. Nothing had changed. He was still free, and she was still nothing, a weakling who couldn’t do anything…

_NO._

She shook herself back to the present. She wasn’t that person anymore, others didn’t define her any longer. When she called his name, her voice was strong, confident.

“Matt Engarde!”

He looked at her, and there was that smile again, breaking the mesh of scars that crisscrossed his face. That hateful, awful smile that she had seen whenever he thought nobody was looking. It had always disgusted her, struck fear into her, terrified her into inaction.

Not anymore.

Now, she looked into that face and smiled right back. 

“We have unfinished business.”

He stepped forward, still smiling. “Well, well, well. I didn’t expect to see you here, Adrian. You’ve latched onto Wright now, I suppose?”

She shook her head. “I stopped that when I left you behind, Engarde. I’m actually glad you’re here- it gives me the chance to tell you what I couldn’t before you left for prison.”

He laughed. “Oh, so you’ve got something to say? That’s rich.”

She stalked forward a few paces as she spoke. “Yes. And it’s that you’re an entitled, awful, pitiful excuse for a human being that I _always_ despised. It’s your fault Celeste died, and I am going to make sure you pay for it.”

He laughed again. “Oh, you’re too much.” Suddenly, there was a blur of motion, and he was holding a sword. _A fencing foil. And super speed, apparently. How appropriate._ “You’re still a weakling, Adrian, and you always will be. You couldn’t do anything to stop me then-“ There was another of blur of motion, and she felt herself being lifted off her feet and slammed into the ground. He was on top of her, sword point at her chest. “-and you can’t do anything to stop me now.” 

The fear came again, threatened to envelop her, memories of his effortless dominance of her life rising to the surface. She beat it back, looking directly into his eyes. “Finally doing things directly, Matt? Not a coward anymore?” For the first time, he flinched, his composure cracking a bit. _There._ “You couldn’t even beat Corrida without help, you had to resort to hiring an assassin.” 

“SHUT UP!” There was real anger there now.

She laughed in his face. “Unbelievable. Ten years and you still haven’t moved on.” Ignoring the pain of the sword point now sticking into her chest, she reached up and touched his face. “Too bad for you… I have.”

She hurled the two of them into the memory.

The courtroom was packed. Edgeworth stood behind the prosecutor’s bench, looking satisfied. On the other side of the room, Phoenix Wright was smiling like a shark at the man standing in the witness box. All eyes, in fact, were on that man.

The judge spoke. “This court finds the defendant, Matt Engarde…”

The Engarde on top of her looked shocked. “No…. no no no no. It’s not happening! Not again!”

“HOLD IT!”

He was struggling to get up, to get away from Adrian, but she had him by the sword hand and neck. 

“P-please wait… If I get a not guilty… I’ll… I’ll be… killed.”

She could see the panic in his eyes.

“I’m… I’m…”

They roared as one.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

As the Engarde on the stand ranted, scratching his face, the Engarde on top of her howled incoherently.

She focused, starting the memory from the beginning. She had long ago come to terms with what had happened that day; as she had hoped, he hadn’t. This wasn’t about her; it wasn’t even about him- it was about justice.

_Justice, once and for all._

~~~~~~~~

Franziska didn’t pick him out immediately- she was more concerned with making sure Adrian didn’t freeze up when confronting Engarde. She believed in Adrian, but if the worst should happen, she would be there for her. Fortunately, although she stiffened for a moment, Adrian moved to meet Engarde confidently. _Good. Best of luck, Adrian Andrews… Now. Father._

She recognized him, despite not having seen him for over a decade. He was slowing down, leaning more heavily on his cane than he once did, but his aura of unflappable confidence, of sheer power, that had not changed. She felt the anger stirring within. This man had molded her, raised her, crafted her into an engine of prosecution, given her a standard of perfection to live up to… and it had all been based on a lie. 

Not only had he betrayed his own principles, he had done so in the most disgusting manner possible, and had even killed to maintain the illusion. Franziska had had ten years to ponder the von Karma legacy, and she had come to an understanding. To aspire to be perfect was indeed a worthwhile goal, one of the few worthy of her exceptional skills, and in many ways, she was. But to do so to the exclusion of all else, to let the obsession drive you… _that_ was true foolishness. Now, she lived for things other than the single-minded pursuit of victory- things like her friends, like Adrian.

It seemed, however, that she had some unresolved aggression to work out. 

While she was still seething with anger, though, her baby brother had stepped forward to speak. “Von Karma. We need to speak.”

The old man’s brow furrowed. “We have nothing to speak about, boy. I am here to right what was made wrong. That is all.” He extended his hand; energy began to play around it. “You,” he said as the energy grew almost too bright to look at, “are part of that wrong.” 

The lance of energy hurtled through the space Miles had occupied just a few moments before as he threw himself to the side. As the shockwave passed over her, she felt the burning rage harden into icy determination. Her whip lashed out.

_WH-KSSH_

Manfred staggered, seemingly noticing Franziska for the first time. “Franziska? What are you…” His features seemed to sink sadly. “Ah. Of course. I should have known you would disappoint me as well.”

Franziska stopped, mid-whip. Her arm dropped as the weight lifted from her shoulders. Before she knew it, she was doubled over laughing at the irony. “ _I_ would disappoint _YOU?!_ ” She half-snorted, half-laughed. “Coming from you, Manfred von Karma, that is ridiculous. You have sunk far, old man, into foolish self-delusion.” She flicked her whip casually at his outstretched hand, knocking it aside as he attempted to summon another energy blast. 

Miles joined her as they approached him slowly, confidently, his energy lances either dodged or whipped away before they could fully come into being. Von Karma grew angrier the closer they came, summoning lances faster and faster.

“Neither of you are worthy of my legacy! You have disgraced the office of prosecutor! I will… I will…” They stood before him. She looked down her nose at the man who dared to call himself her father.

“Your legacy is a foolish little pile of lies and secrets,” she said.

“You are the one who has disgraced the office of prosecutor,” Miles continued.

“And we have outgrown you.”

As one, their fists collided with his face. 

As he keeled backwards and collapsed, Franziska let out a long breath. “That,” she said, “was perfect.”

~~~~~~~~

Phoenix saw him at the rear of the group as Klavier and Apollo pulled Kristoph outside. Still impossibly cool, still gripping a coffee mug. He moved casually out of the way as his co-conspirator was towed outside. Finishing his coffee, he looked directly at Phoenix. He returned the gaze. 

“Godot.”

“Trite.”

“Why are you here? Last time I saw you, you seemed satisfied. Why break out? What happened?”

Godot walked over to the reception desk, oblivious to the battles now raging around the two of them. He set down his coffee mug. “Isn’t it obvious, Trite? You were disbarred, that’s what happened. Gavin told me all about it.” He fixed Phoenix with a serious look. “You were supposed to bear her legacy. Instead, you lose your badge to a ploy by a crackpot like Gavin.”

Phoenix sighed. “You’re right. I was a fool, and it took me far too long to recover. But now… we’re doing all right, Diego. The dark age of the law is behind us, the next generation shows more promise than either of us ever did… I think she’d be proud.”

Godot grinned, showing off those pointed incisors. “Still. I think I was given these powers for a reason- to test you one last time. Shall we?” Phoenix hesitated only a moment before nodding.

“That’s your prerogative, I think. Can we take it somewhere a little less fragile?” The white-haired prosecutor gestured for him to lead the way. 

Phoenix led him out the back, into the alley behind the center. Godot walked about twenty paces towards the alley’s mouth before turning back towards him.

“Okay, Trite. We’ll keep it simple this time. Show me your determination, and reach me.”

Standing in the center of the alley, he faced down Godot. “Alright, Diego. Once more. Go.”

Those incisors flashed again. “Godot… Beam.”

In a flash, Phoenix was surrounded by waves of shimmering red energy. The heat was intense, even with his powers. In the distance, through the sea of red, he could see the point of origin- three even-brighter red lines. The energy blast pushed him back, but he dug in his heels. He took a deep breath- the air itself seemed to be burning. _I won’t lose._

He took a step forward. Another one. 

_For all the kids in there. For Athena and Apollo._

Two more. 

_For Edgeworth._

Again. 

_For Franziska and Adrian._

He hauled himself forward, keeping his eyes fixed on the three lines that seemed an eternity away. 

_For Blackquill and Klavier._

He was growing closer, but the energy was intensifying as he reached the source. He could feel the muscles in his legs fluttering. 

_No! I won’t give up now! For the future! For Maya and Pearls!_

Another few steps. His hands stretched in front of him, reaching for the goal. 

_For Mia!_

He was so close now. Godot’s arms were spread, inviting him forward. He just… couldn’t… 

_For Trucy!_

And then he was there, his hands closing over Godot’s visor, stopping the flow. He panted, exhausted. It felt like he had climbed a particularly aggressive mountain. The heat faded under his fingers. 

Godot’s smile was sad and satisfied all at once. “Well done, Trite,” he said as Phoenix lowered his hands and sagged, still out of breath. The older man extended a hand, which was, against all probability, holding a mug of coffee. He accepted it, straightening. Godot raised his own in a toast, and Phoenix clinked their mugs together. They both drank. 

“What will you do now?” Phoenix asked.

“It’s not like I could run very effectively- the visor’s a bit of a giveaway. So, I’ll go back to prison, catch up on my reading, ensure my compatriots don’t get out again. Stay frosty, Wright.” He turned and headed out of the alley, tossing the empty coffee mug into the air, where it vanished.

Phoenix watched him go before draining his mug and turning to head back inside.

~~~~~~~~

The center was a scene of post-battle destruction. Water and ice mixed around his feet as he surveyed the scene. Engarde lay in one corner, awake but apparently not aware, staring at the ceiling with blank eyes. Nearby, Franziska was fussing over Adrian, who was bleeding from a chest wound. Judging by Adrian’s smile, though, she wasn’t badly injured. 

Miles was watching over the unconscious bodies of Gant, Kristoph, and von Karma, a satisfied look on his face. Apollo and Klavier were collapsed back-to-back on the floor nearby, apparently suffering from nothing more serious than post-adrenaline rush letdown. Trucy had emerged from the back, and had thrown her arms around Apollo, tears of relief visible in the corners of her eyes. Blackquill had found the only seat to escape serious damage and was fondly stroking Taka, smiling to himself. That only left…

“Boss! You’re okay!” Athena bounded up to him as all eyes turned his way. He grinned.

“Was there ever any doubt? Is everyone okay?” 

Franziska huffed. “Adrian has managed to sustain a sword wound. I will be taking her to the hospital presently.” She looked up at him, one eyebrow raised. “I assume there will be nothing else today, Phoenix Wright?” He gave her a tired smile in return. “Good. I believe those two-“ she indicated Klavier and Apollo- “have sustained some minor bruises, but nothing too serious. If you will excuse us.”

No sooner had they reached the remains of the door, though, than a hulking green form burst in, accompanied by a swarm of blue. Phoenix looked from the officers to the woman in front of them, and gave a bit of a smile. “You’re just a little late, Ms. Walters.”

She-Hulk surveyed the scene and returned the grin. “Looks like I didn’t even need to rush, boss.” She directed the officers to the recumbent bodies.

From the doorway, he heard Adrian’s voice. “Mr. Wright? There are a bunch of reporters out here as well. I would talk to them, but, ah…”

“But to do so would be the height of foolishness,” finished Franziska. 

“It’s all right, Ms. Andrews, I’ll speak to them.” He headed out the door, straightening what was left of his tie. Trucy, Apollo, Athena, and the others came to his side as he entered the street.

The sea of cameras and microphones turned towards him as he exited, and a torrent of questions poured forth. It took him a moment to restore order. 

“An official statement will no doubt go out later today from the city. But right now I have just one thing to say.” He looked at the people standing behind him, and smiled.

“The Wright Anything Agency is open for business.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a while, and is probably my most ambitious fic to date. I've always liked writing fight scenes, and any feedback you'd like to give on how to make them better is appreciated.


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